How to Stop Your Dog’s Jumping on You

Hi mutt lovers, the following is my approach on how to stop your dog’s jumping habit.

It’s not easy! Some dogs love to jump. It’s their way of saying hi or to express affection or that they want to play.

Managing a dog’s jumping is really about teaching the dog some self-control.

For this post, I’m focusing on dogs that jump on people in the house, mostly in doorways since that seems to be the most common problem.

I’ll share my ideas but as always I hope you’ll share some of your ideas in the comments.

How to Stop Your Dog’s Jumping

I’ve broken this into 4 ideas:

rules

prevention

ignoring and

rewards

I summarize everything in the video first. Or, you can read about it further down.

This video appeared first in Mighty Paw’s private Facebook group. Mighty Paw is a partner of That Mutt, and they make high-quality dog collars, leashes, harnesses and other gear. Check them out HERE.

So, to expand on the video a bit:

#1: Decide on your rules.

What behavior is appropriate for dogs in your house?

The first strop to stop your dog’s jumping is to decide on your own rules and be consistent. If you don’t know what is “allowed,” how is your dog supposed to know? All family members and roommates should be on board with the same rules.

For example, I don’t mind if my dogs run up and greet me at the door and show excitement. I like that. However, I do expect them to settle down shortly afterwards, and I do not allow any barking or jumping. Your rules might be a little different.

#2: Prevent the jumping.

So much of dog training is actually PREVENTION.

Prevent bad habits long enough, and they’ll begin to decrease and go away.

If I don’t allow my dogs to jump, they form a new habit.

So how do you prevent a dog’s jumping?

It depends on the dog, but here are some general ideas:

Lots of exercise! 60 to 90 minutes of physical exercise every single day! When I take my dog Remy running consistently, he does not jump on me. If we miss a day, he jumps because he has extra energy. Drain their energy in other ways and they’ll have an easier time remaining calm.

Use food. You know when your dog is likely to jump, so during those times, keep dry food or treats in your pockets and just toss some on the ground before your dog has a chance to jump. Then you can even ask for a “sit” and reward that with more food.

Be calm yourself. Make sure you’re not unintentionally encouraging the jumping through your behavior and body language. Don’t laugh at your dog or talk to him when he jumps. Don’t pet him or touch him.

Keep your dog on a leash. This is for when you have visitors. If your dog behaves better on a leash, by all means, use a leash for now! Remember, we’re preventing the jumping for now while we work on teaching a new habit.

Hand him a chew toy or bully stick. This can work well when people visit. Some dogs will take the bully stick and retreat to their bed for some chew time. Of course, some dogs will just get more riled up and run around with their “prize” so you have to know your dog.

#3: Truly IGNORE your dog’s jumping.

This advice to ignore your dog or to “stand like a tree” does work BUT you have to truly ignore your dog!

This is very difficult for most people. Most people do not know how to truly ignore a dog.

Here’s how you truly ignore a dog:

Show no emotion

Don’t look at your dog

Don’t talk to your dog or laugh at your dog (don’t even smile)

Do not touch your dog or interact in any way

You basically give a cold shoulder!

Focus on something else, even if you’re pretending (Dogs use this tactic with each other!)

What you need to do is basically become like a zombie – no emotion. You’re not angry or excited or stressed. Stare at your phone or the TV or focus on someone else.

Also, this is important, DO NOT SPIN IN CIRCLES trying to avoid your dog. This is not a way to ignore a dog, this is a fun game for your dog!

Ignoring your dog might cause him to jump more

When you first start ignoring your dog, he’s probably going to jump on you more. You’ll have to take a few punches and scratches.

Jumping on you has worked to get attention in the past, so your dog is going to try it and he’s going to keep trying. If you give in and scold him or try to push him away, he’s going to learn he just has to jump on you several times to get your attention.

So be strong! Do not give in to the crazy mutt! Haha.

If you ignore your dog for jumping (truly ignore), eventually the behavior will decrease.

#4: Reward calm behavior

Interact with your dog and reward him when he’s calm.

He’s sitting? What a good boy! He’s standing there on all fours. Wow, such a smart dog. Goooood boooy.

Don’t get him excited again with your praise, but keep a calm, slow voice and pet him slowly.

Treats help too as long as your dog doesn’t go nuts over food! A clicker is also a good option for marking the good behavior here.

Finally, what about corrections to stop your dog’s jumping?

So you’re using prevention. You’re ignoring the jumping, and you’re rewarding good behavior.

What if your dog still jumps?

Positive reinforcement is great and we should all use it as much as possible but sometimes a firm, well-timed correction can go a long way.

So much depends on the individual dog.

Unfortunately, most dogs will enjoy being scolded because they have your attention. A firm “NO!” might work for a few dogs. My weimaraner laughs at me when I scold him. He thinks it’s wonderful that I’m paying attention to him. He likes to be scolded.

Here are some other options for interrupting a dog that jumps:

A squirt bottle of water. This works for some dogs. Others (like mine) think this is a fun game. You can get a cheap water bottle for $1 just about anywhere. You would give a quick squirt to interrupt the jumping. Then praise.

Doggie Don’t Device. This is a handheld device that makes a loud static noise. It does not harm the dog, but it will interrupt the dog for a moment and then you can quickly reward a more appropriate behavior. Doggie Don’t Device is a sponsor of That Mutt. You can get free shipping with code MUTT CLICK HERE

Of course there are other products you can try too depending on what might work for your dog. Each dog is different, and you know your dog best.

Jumping is a serious problem with some dogs, especially if the dog is also nipping at people. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a trainer if you need some help to keep everyone safe. (Note that it’s normal for all puppies to jump and nip. Don’t be overly concerned if your puppy is doing this.)

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16 Comments

KL
on November 1, 2017 at 1:14 pm

I used a hip check with my dog, followed immediately by praise for having all four on the floor. Jumping is a behavior that I deem simply too dangerous and rude to allow, so I went right to using a correction.

With friends’ dogs who are in training, I will ask what they want me to do.

At the dog park, or with people whose dogs are badly trained with no apparent intention of doing said training, I just knee them in the chest and say NO.

It all depends on what your goals are. The other methods take a lot of time and patience but they are effective when used consistently. The knee to the chest is really damn effective really damn fast, and I do use it if the dog is large and uncontrolled.

I do a hip check too or lift my knee to Remy too. I don’t like to back away from a dog that is jumping on me. Sometimes I’ll stick an elbow out too. Ha! Unfortunately Remy seems to like “rough” attention for the most part so in my case it’s better to ignore him. This is very difficult for me. It’s hard for me not to scold him. I think everyone knows their own dog best and should consider different options, especially if what you’re doing doesn’t seem to be working. Remy still jumps on me fairly often by the way so I’m always open to more ideas!

I’m not the one to talk to about not scolding. Jumping was one of my few drop dead, absolutely not, in no way acceptable behaviors. A big, athletic dog can really injure someone if they make contact, and with dog bite law being what it is here, jumping could put her (and me) at as much risk as biting.

I allowed her more learning curve at home, but the one time she jumped on someone other than my husband or me, that was a hard correct. I pulled her all the way to the ground to a down position, looked her in the eye, and said, “NO” and gave our command for four on the floor. Then I let her up, put her in a sit, praised her for that, and all was well. But she learned her lesson. She never jumped on anyone else again.

I should add to that: To your point about knowing your dog, I have a dog with a fairly hard temperament in a lot of ways. Corrections just don’t faze her. She’ll look abashed, but she is sort of like the kid who is trying not to laugh when the principle calls her into his office and scolds her. I wouldn’t have gotten that tough with a soft dog, because 1) I wouldn’t need to, and 2) it would do more harm than good.

My Brittany doesn’t immediately respond to “No” either and he doesn’t just jump, he grabs anything I have in my hands/arms. This makes it impossible to use the ignore tactic because he will just hang on me and chew whatever he finds. Yay, you brought me a toy! We have found that commanding him to “Sit”, even when he is running full speed toward us, works 95% of the time. It redirects his brain and he knows he will get all of our attention, including belly rubs, if he sits and waits (because we consistently practice this behavior when he sits patiently).

My grandpup Lily lives with me. She is a 11yo part border collie and my son found her sitting on side of road with a bag of food, when she was about 6mo old, and he figured I needed a dog, so she was given to me. I have spoiled her of course. There are many issues I’d like help with, but the main one is jumping on me…and barking at anyone walking on the street. When I get home she goes to jump on me then just puts her front paws/legs around me and holds on. If I turn around, she just about climbs up my back whinning. I have ignore her, pushed her down and held her there, sprayed her with water, and nothing changes. Obviously I am the one who need to change, and am asking for help. Sorry for going on an on. But your site is one of the best I have ever come across.

I think that’s fair for teaching a lot of things. With some behaviors, and with some dogs, you do not have the luxury of sticking to that mantra.

Dog bite law in my state is such that the dog doesn’t need to touch somebody in order for me to be liable. If the dog scares someone and is the “but for” cause of an injury, the dog owner is responsible. Jumping could absolutely put someone at risk, and with a large breed dog that becomes big and powerful at a young age, curbing that behavior as early as possible is really important.

Regardless of the dog’s size, basic temperament can vary, and the disciplinary and teaching tools have to vary with it. Categorically eliminating an entire set of tools isn’t always the wisest approach, nor is it always best for the dog.

After years of kneeing the dog in the chest and telling him no, I discovered a better way at the dog park. Since people don’t take to you kneeing their dog I started touching their nose with a flat open palm while saying no. It works surprisingly well. C.M.’s No touch, no talk, no eye contact when first meeting a dog works pretty well too.